If you stand in front of a mirror, there's a good chance that your body looks symmetrical. But very quickly after childhood you adopt certain ways of standing or sitting that start to throw off the alignment of your bones, especially your hips and spine. The changes may be minuscule and you may not feel the effects until much later in life, but adopting a discipline like Bikram yoga that contains poses specifically for spinal realignment will serve you well down the road.
Origins of Bikram Yoga
The number of Hatha yoga postures with all of its variations and modifications numbers well into the hundreds. Bikram Choudhury chose a mere 26 poses from this 5,000-year-old discipline to create his own brand of yoga named Bikram or as it is commonly known, hot yoga. Practiced in a studio heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, students of Bikram yoga spend 90 minutes following the prescribed series of 26 poses in order to "reshape the body."
Half Moon Pose
Stand with your feet together. Contract the muscles in the fronts of your upper thighs and pull them up, away from your knees. Point your tailbone down and contract your abs. Sweep your arms up over your head and clasp your thumbs, middle, ring and pinky fingers together. Extend the first two fingers of your hands, press them together and point them towards the ceiling. On an exhale, start bending from your waist to the right. Keep your torso facing forward and your raised arms pressed close to your ears throughout the stretch. To increase the stretch along the left side of your body, jut your left hip out slightly as you bend to the right. Breathe normally as you relax into Half Moon pose for up to a minute and then repeat on your left side.
Triangle Pose
From a standing position step your legs three feet apart. Rotate your right foot out 90 degrees and your back foot in about 30 degrees. Bend your right knee until your upper right thigh is parallel to the floor taking care to not let your right knee come forward of your right ankle. Bending from your waist, reach down with your right hand with your palm facing forward until your fingertips are barely skimming the floor. Swing your left arm up until it is perpendicular to the floor and reach through your fingertips towards the ceiling. Gaze down at the fingertips of your right hand as you breathe normally in Triangle pose for up to a minute before switching sides.
Camel Pose
Kneel on a yoga mat or rug on the floor with your lower legs outstretched behind you. Curl your toes under. Place your hands on the back of your hips and tip your head back. Slowly jut your hips forward as far as you can using your hands on the backs of your hips to help you. On an exhale reach behind with your right hand and grasp the heel of your right foot. Inhale and then on your next exhale reach behind and grasp your left heel with your left hand. Maintain the forward thrust of your hips making sure not to collapse all of your weight onto the hands holding your heels. Stay in Camel pose for up to one minute.
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